Safety & Security

Community College of Vermont is committed to providing a safe environment for its students, faculty, and staff and has policies that address safety and security, drug and alcohol use, sexual assault, harassment, disruptive persons, and the crime awareness act.

How to Be Safe

Regardless of where you live, work, or learn, there are measures you can take to avoid personal danger. You may not be able to anticipate every emergency before it occurs, but it is helpful to think about your own and others’ safety well before a situation happens.

Most important of all is to stay alert to your surroundings, whether that involves icy roads or an unfamiliar parking lot.

Try to stay calm, also, as this will help you to keep a clear mind when solving problems.

Do not carry weapons or items that you intend to use as weapons. These may be taken and used against you. As stated in the weapons policy, do not bring weapons to CCV. Using a whistle or cell phone to call for help is a safer alternative.

CCV’s Emergency Reference Guide, which was designed as a tool to assist faculty and staff in case of an emergency such as medical, fire, bomb threat, evacuation or property damage.

Recommendations for Staying Safe When Traveling to and from Class

Make sure your vehicle is in good condition and you have plenty of gas, particularly in winter.

When walking at night or in an unfamiliar area, travel with others whenever possible.

Trust your intuition. If something feels “off” to you, get to a safe place immediately and contact someone you trust.

Let friends or family know where you’re going to be and when to expect you.

If You Are a Victim of a Crime

The most important thing is to get yourself to a safe place as soon as possible and contact a trusted person for support.

Depending on the situation, you may want to report the incident to the local law enforcement authority for investigation and/or to a CCV administrator.

If you are subject to or observe any discriminating, unprofessional or harassing behavior, it is vitally important for you to bring it to the attention of a CCV staff member. Each center has trained contact people who can assist you; you may contact any person on the list (you do not necessarily need to contact the person/s listed for your academic center). View the contact list.

Recommendations for Victims of Sexual Misconduct

Sexual activity or sexual touching without consent of the other person is prohibited at CCV. Acts of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, often create difficult emotional issues for victims. If you are a victim, consider these important steps:

Get to a safe place as soon as possible.

Contact a trusted person for support. This could include a family member, friend, the local rape crisis line or the sexual violence statewide hotline at 1-800-489-7273 or consult this list of resources in your area.

Avoid washing, going to the bathroom, and changing clothes if possible. This will help to preserve physical evidence should you decide to take legal action. If you must change clothing, all the clothing worn at the time of the assault should be placed in a paper bag (not a plastic one).

CCV’s Crime Report

In 1990, Congress passed the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act, requiring colleges and universities to report the occurrence of criminal offenses and the number of arrests for specific crimes for the preceding calendar years.

In the past three years, there were no reports of rape, murder, manslaughter or hate crimes reported at CCV. Reported from CCV’s 12 academic centers and by local police departments, there were two stalking reports in 2017, four in 2016, and one in 2015.

On non-campus and public property, in close proximity to CCV academic centers, there were two aggravated assaults, one motor vehicle theft, four liquor law arrests and four drug law arrests in 2017. In 2016 there was one case of robbery, one of fondling and one of stalking. Additionally on public property, there was one liquor law arrest. In 2015 there was one case of aggravated assault, two of arson, three of domestic violence and one of stalking, plus one liquor law arrest and two drug law arrest and one illegal weapons possession arrest.

None of the reported crimes manifested evidence of prejudice based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin or disability.

Community College of Vermont is committed to proving a safe environment for its students, faculty and staff and has policies that address the crime awareness act, center safety and security, drug and alcohol use and abuse, sexual harassment, and disruptive persons. Additionally, the Vermont State colleges has policies that address Sexual Misconduct, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking. These policies can be viewed on the CCV policy and procedure web page along with further information about center safety and security or obtained by contacting Andy Pallito, Dean of Administration, 802-828-2800.

Whistleblower Hotline: The VSC is dedicated to providing employees a safe and productive workplace. It is the policy of the VSC that its officers, faculty, staff and others acting on its behalf have the obligation to avoid any activities or behavior that is ethically, legally, financially or otherwise questionable.

“I completed my medical assisting certificate at CCV, planning to transfer into VTC’s nursing program. But I found that medical assisting work is a dead right fit for me. I am continuing for my associate in this program.”